


lullaby

by Arlene0401



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Mild Angst, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 02:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13471359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlene0401/pseuds/Arlene0401
Summary: Levi will rather cut off his tongue than admit it, but now that he is wrapped around Eren’s still and sleeping form he realizes that this is what he has missed most.





	lullaby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eren_writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eren_writes/gifts).



> So... this is just a little pick-me-up for [captain-cleanliness](https://captain-cleanliness.tumblr.com) who is a very sweet and lovely person. I asked a question, got an idea over the answer and wrote it. That's it. :)

Levi will rather cut off his tongue than admit it, but now that he is wrapped around Eren’s still and sleeping form he realizes that this is what he has missed most.

It’s almost laughable how the one thing that set his teeth on edge, back when it all between them had started, is the thing that affects him the most.

He remembers Eren asking him, with that shy sideways glance and almost pout, if they could sleep together - not in the “euphemism for sex” way, since they had been indulgently practicing that for weeks at that point, but he was honest to god asking if they could spend a night in the same bed instead of going their separate ways after each Tête-à-Tête. That sappy little shit. It is a clear step beyond a friendly casual fuck, which frankly it has never been, because with Eren there can never be anything like casual. But Levi isn’t sure if he is ready to _admit_ they are emotionally involved.

In the end, he caves in. Eren is always so damn adorable after they make love, all messed up hair and content little sighs and dopey, sleepy smiles. So miserable when Levi goes stern on him and sends him to his own bunk, staggering off with his clothes haphazardly thrown over and whining and complaining. Claiming that they will get caught if Eren comes out of his room in the morning is a moot point, because either Eren slinking around in an attire that just screams “freshly fucked” or Levi sneaking down the corridors with his boots in hand and hickeys all over his neck have become a common sight by now.

Levi fears it will be uncomfortable and awkward, that they will keep each other awake with snoring and thrashing and the host of nightmares that come with a soldier’s life. He only sleeps three or four hours a night, much less than he can reasonably assume a healthy young man like Eren needs, and with someone else sleeping in his room he can’t read or while away on his reports like he usually does at night. Won’t he feel trapped, lying still and staring into the dark in fear of disturbing Eren?

Eren offers a sweet, understanding smile and the promise that he sleeps like a log, and that short of tap dancing on the bed there is pretty much nothing Levi could do to wake him up. With that reassurance in his mind, and yet still apprehensive, Levi settles for his first night in a shared bed in god knowns how long.

It goes… surprisingly well.

After a bit of pottering around and some overly polite “after you” and “no, after _you_ ” at the wash basin they climb into bed, and before Levi can even _start_ getting fidgety over this strange new arrangement, Eren (bless his soul) pecks a chaste kiss on his cheek and curls up against his side, one arm thrown over his chest, and he looks every bit as content as if he fucking belongs there.

And strangely enough, it really _feels_ like he belongs there, right in Levi’s bed, eyes closed and breath evening out without a care in the world. So trustful and vulnerable, the perpetually tense set of his jaw loosening up as his face relaxes and he drifts off. And Levi finds that he doesn’t feel the least bit trapped, that he has no urge to get up and sneak away to his desk. Eren entrusted his sleeping, defenseless self to him, and Levi vows to guard his rest.

Levi doesn’t sleep more with Eren in his bed, but he feels remarkably more rested. Their bodies shift around each other naturally, and he can’t tell which gives him more comfort - whether Eren is molded against his back, cradling him close, or whether he holds the younger man in his arms, nose buried in the nape of his neck, and inhales his warm scent. Even when he doesn’t sleep, it soothes his mind and heart on so many levels. It brings back memories of the only times he has ever slept close to someone else - Isabel and Farlan, back in the underground city, where security came in numbers and shared body heat was a weapon against the cold, damp caves; and his mother, by now only a vague recollection of warmth and affection.

But the gift of Eren’s comforting presence is a double edged sword, as he learns when Eren is gone to his almost hopeless mission into the heart of Marley.

The first nights, his sheets still smell a little of Eren, and Levi bunches up the pillows and clings to them as if they were a breathing, living body. But then comes the day when he simply can’t put laundry off any longer, and with the last remnants of Eren gone, so is his peace of mind. Opening up to some other person has made him vulnerable, and he aches in ways he never has before.

But now he finally has Eren back, their mission fulfilled, their duty done, and Levi can’t help but possessively wrap his arms around him and tuck him close. Their legs are intertwined, and he honestly can’t tell which are Eren’s and which are his. They have been too tired, too exhausted, too overwhelmed to do anything other than cuddle when they are finally, finally alone, but that’s fine. The talking will come later, the sex too. They have time now, all the time in the world, and Levi swears that if anybody ever tries to rip Eren from him again they will pay with their lives.

He shifts a little, Eren’s hair tickles his face. It’s incredibly long now, but he likes it. He props his chin on his hand, silently regards the sleeper. His other hand has sneaked underneath Eren’s shirt, and he caresses his abdomen and chest lightly. He knows how to touch Eren without waking him, too firm but not so light it tickles. Feeling the arcs or ribs under his fingers, he frowns. Eren’s lost so much weight, as is evident in his narrowed face and prominent collarbones, and he looks pale and weary. Even now, in the faint light of a single candle, and with his eyelashes obscuring them, the dark shadows under his eyes are visible. He seems so frail to Levi, and involuntarily, his hand slips higher and he presses the palm to Eren’s rib cage, right above his heart. It beats slow and steady, and the chest rises and falls with his breathing.

Levi lets his head drop on the pillow again, and he crawls closer still, just a little bit closer, nestles his face against Eren’s back and lets himself be lulled to sleep by the soothing beat in his ear.


End file.
